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Den of Geek loves ... Nick Frost

NewsJohn Moore12 Sep 2007 - 11:10

He's got the mind of a geek, and damn it, he's got the body of a geek
too - give it up for Brit-film's best buddy, Nick Frost

Nick Frost is about the funniest thing on two legs. What's more, he's a star that doesn't look like a star, a character actor who – in the best tradition of Jack Nicholson – appears to play himself in everything he's appeared in (whilst actually not), is 50% responsible for Hot Fuzz… Plus, he loves the undead. You gotta dig this guy. You just gotta.

Introduced to us in 1999 as the infantile, insecure, mustachioed, portly, gun-obsessed Mike from every-geek-loves-it sitcom Spaced, he's since managed to turn a series of dysfunctional and, on the page, at least, downright annoying characters into the best-mates you'd all love to have if Simon Pegg hadn't got there first. The git.

Be it the drug-dealing, lay-about, girlfriend-baiting Ed from Shaun of the Dead, or the thick-as-pig-poo bumpkin cop Danny from 'Fuzz, Frost still manages to charm us with his puppy-dog loyalty, dead-pan delivery and an almost uncanny ability to say something crude/dumb at exactly the right moment (see: 'She's like butt-er'). A skill that, it appears, is highly valued by the British film-goer, and even discerning US audiences too.

Frost is so good, he even managed to squeeze two good series out of Channel 5. Those were Danger! 50,000 Volts, and Danger! Incoming Attack, where he wonderfully walked the line between slapstick comedy and genuine interest in the subject matter (stuff that'll kill you). The first of these these was a seriously guilty pleasures in my household before I realised who the presenter actually was (I didn't recognise him without the Mike-stache), and even more fun after I worked out who the presenter was, and that it was OK to talk to my mates about it!

His other TV appearances include the very funny sci-fi sit com Hyperdrive, as well as appearances in Green Wing, Big Train and Look Around You (all genius in their own ways) and he can also often be heard voicing dodgy clip compendiums like Top Ten TV Sci-Fi and the not-so-hot Manstrokewoman (where he's the best bit), but we'll forgive him those – a man's gotta eat, right?

As to what the future holds, there's apparently another collaboration with Pegg in the offing and an appearance in the Daisy Donovan/Lucy Dahl-scripted Wildchild for 2008, while Hyperdrive has just finished series two on the BBC and is already out on DVD.

Anthony may love Hayden Panettiere and her cheerleading outfit, but if I wanted to cuddle up with someone for a Star Wars marathon, I think I may go for the big guy – I bet he does a wicked Wookiee impression. And so, with that sofa busting image in my mind, I leave you. No poetry required.